Advice on Lease shopping? $209/month, 36 months, $2299 down?

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Mark W

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Been interested in a Clarity PHEV for a while. Saw this article on greencarreports.com
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ectric-fuel-efficient-cars-for-september-2018

Seems like a very good deal to me. I live in CT, so that is one of the CARB states that is supposed to be able to get the deal. How should I go about looking into it? Do I just email dealers about it? This would be replacing a 2004 Acura TL that has been great, but is really aging. My monthly savings in fuel costs would be significant. I have never leased before, but this seems like a good deal, if I can get it.
 
Check for special promotions at your local dealers. A dealership near me is offering $125/month, 36 months, $3000 down this month. There’s an added state rebate here, but I’m still not entirely sure how the math works out on that one...


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Take a look at the fine prints. 9/10 times the lease advertised specials do not include tax or dealer fees, even when they have money down. Find out what the current Money Factor and Residual are (Edmunds is the best place to ask), and then use a good calculator like LeaseHackr. Also, sometimes these are 10K per year allowances only...

Currently, .00071 and 43% (base) or 42% (Touring), lease cash ($7800) and a delear lease cash ($3000) for ZEV states going on.

Finally, note that you will NOT receive the federal tax credit with a lease. That goes to the finance company which is the one that buys the car. It's up to them to pass down the savings to you. Not sure on state rebates, but would not surprise me if you don't get them either.

Do your numbers...
 
su_A_ve said:
Take a look at the fine prints. 9/10 times the lease advertised specials do not include tax or dealer fees, even when they have money down. Find out what the current Money Factor and Residual are (Edmunds is the best place to ask), and then use a good calculator like LeaseHackr. Also, sometimes these are 10K per year allowances only...

Currently, .00071 and 43% (base) or 42% (Touring), lease cash ($7800) and a delear lease cash ($3000) for ZEV states going on.

Finally, note that you will NOT receive the federal tax credit with a lease. That goes to the finance company which is the one that buys the car. It's up to them to pass down the savings to you. Not sure on state rebates, but would not surprise me if you don't get them either.

Do your numbers...
Click to expand...
Thanks to both of you for your replies. CT has a $2000 rebate for the Clarity. I was thinking that it was already included in the lease price, but I guess that can't be if that is a national promotion? I went to the leasehackr site, I will have to educate myself more on leases.
 
The value of leasing is tricky on vehicles with tax credits and rebates. Go into that well-educated and with your "scam-alert" set on "high". When shopping earlier this year, we ran into wildly varying ways leasing companys account for credits and rebates (if at all !).
 
I live in CT and took a 3-year, 15k miles, lease on a touring. Negotiate your best price as if you’re buying. At the time, Honda rebated $6,000 of the tax credit, dealer added $500 for military service; the $2,000 state rebate is sent adbout two weeks after the sale, so I put $5,000 cash down at closing and got the rebate as partial reimbursement. I was able to play two dealers off each other and dropped payment by nearly $25/mo. Payment right around $300/mo. PM me if you want additional details.
 
Kailani said:
I live in CT and took a 3-year, 15k miles, lease on a touring. Negotiate your best price as if you’re buying. At the time, Honda rebated $6,000 of the tax credit, dealer added $500 for military service; the $2,000 state rebate is sent adbout two weeks after the sale, so I put $5,000 cash down at closing and got the rebate as partial reimbursement. I was able to play two dealers off each other and dropped payment by nearly $25/mo. Payment right around $300/mo. PM me if you want additional details.
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Thanks very much! PM sent.
 
su_A_ve said:
Take a look at the fine prints. 9/10 times the lease advertised specials do not include tax or dealer fees, even when they have money down. Find out what the current Money Factor and Residual are (Edmunds is the best place to ask), and then use a good calculator like LeaseHackr. Also, sometimes these are 10K per year allowances only...

Currently, .00071 and 43% (base) or 42% (Touring), lease cash ($7800) and a delear lease cash ($3000) for ZEV states going on.

Finally, note that you will NOT receive the federal tax credit with a lease. That goes to the finance company which is the one that buys the car. It's up to them to pass down the savings to you. Not sure on state rebates, but would not surprise me if you don't get them either.

Do your numbers...
Click to expand...
True you won't get the tax incentive when you lease, but Honda's deal (not the dealership special) actually incorporate the tax incentive in the lease term to bring the monthly payment down, so if you do the math you will see the $7300ish or $7400 lower than the MSRP or the negotiated price.

It's not a full $7500, but it's not that much lower either
 
Odobo said:
True you won't get the tax incentive when you lease, but Honda's deal (not the dealership special) actually incorporate the tax incentive in the lease term to bring the monthly payment down, so if you do the math you will see the $7300ish or $7400 lower than the MSRP or the negotiated price.

It's not a full $7500, but it's not that much lower either
Click to expand...

But that's the thing. The advertised special is not that great as it's MSRP less the lease incentives. You could actually do better by negotiating the price. For example, if you can get to invoice as a start, you should be able to add both dealer lease cash offers available - these are Honda Finance incentives that should lower the cost even more (based on Edmunds, it should be $10,800). The other numbers (lease factor and residuals) are set by Honda, so you need to make sure those numbers are correct as dealers will try to maximize their profits.
 
su_A_ve said:
But that's the thing. The advertised special is not that great as it's MSRP less the lease incentives. You could actually do better by negotiating the price. For example, if you can get to invoice as a start, you should be able to add both dealer lease cash offers available - these are Honda Finance incentives that should lower the cost even more (based on Edmunds, it should be $10,800). The other numbers (lease factor and residuals) are set by Honda, so you need to make sure those numbers are correct as dealers will try to maximize their profits.
Click to expand...
Well the original comment was regarding if you actually get any tax incentive in any form, not about the deal itself.

I wasnt able to get any dealership in my area to give me a better lease deal than the one offer by Honda. Probably because the clarity isn't sitting in the lot for too long in my area compare to others.
 
su_A_ve said:
But that's the thing. The advertised special is not that great as it's MSRP less the lease incentives. You could actually do better by negotiating the price. For example, if you can get to invoice as a start, you should be able to add both dealer lease cash offers available - these are Honda Finance incentives that should lower the cost even more (based on Edmunds, it should be $10,800). The other numbers (lease factor and residuals) are set by Honda, so you need to make sure those numbers are correct as dealers will try to maximize their profits.
Click to expand...
Thanks, this is interesting. Here are the lease details from Honda.com. MSRP $34,295.00 (includes destination, excludes tax, license, title, registration, documentation fees). Actual net capitalized cost $21,348.09. Net capitalized cost includes $595 acquisition fee. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect actual lease payment. Total monthly payments $7,524.00. Option to purchase at lease end $14,746.85.

When I try to put the in the calculator on the Leasehakr site, I get a monthly payment of $228 before tax. I may have entered something wrong, it's confusing to me. It sounds like what you are saying is that based on the MSRP, and the Honda incentives, that the $209 per month price reflects no discounts at all from the dealer themselves? So, it sounds like I should be able to get to $199/month?

Anyone know what Honda documentation fees usually are?
 
I'm considering the purchase of a Touring, but I would jump on a base model for $209 lease and $2300 down out here in California. Current "special" is $289 with $3K down. That deal above for $199.mo zero down is a steal. Are they getting more than the $7500 tax credit? I believe that is all the dealers can get out here. Consumers are still eligible for state and utility rebates.
 
When I run the numbers on the leasehackr site, I get a monthly payment of $228/mo on the standard model. When I add $3000 to the price for the touring, it jumps to $313. That is a huge difference!
 
Went to a dealer near me on Sunday. Took forever to be able to test drive. Discussed lease terms after. That also took a long time, many delays on their part. I finally just left without really understanding the terms. Below is what they gave me. I see a higher monthly cost, and I assume customer cash is the amount due at signing. That is also higher than the national offer. I know taxes and fees are not included in the national offer. Is the conveyance fee pretty standard at $499? I'm really just trying to compare this to the national Honda offer and am having trouble. Thanks for any help someone can provide.
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su_A_ve said:
... Find out what the current Money Factor and Residual are (Edmunds is the best place to ask), and then use a good calculator like LeaseHackr. Also, sometimes these are 10K per year allowances only...

Currently, .00071 and 43% (base) or 42% (Touring), lease cash ($7800) and a delear lease cash ($3000) for ZEV states going on.

...

Do your numbers...
Click to expand...
I'm trying to do my numbers. They are honestly confusing me. I looked at Edmunds and could not find these values for Lease Cash, and dealer lease cash. Are those the official names for those amounts? Are both of those numbers coming from Honda? The term "dealer lease cash", sounds like the amount the dealership discounts the car from sticker. If that is the case, it doesn't seem like there would be much room for negotiation. I'm thinking maybe I'm overcomplicating things though. Can't I just negotiate with different dealers by just discussing the monthly payment + amount due and signing = Total Lease Price?
 
Mark W said:
I'm trying to do my numbers. They are honestly confusing me. I looked at Edmunds and could not find these values for Lease Cash, and dealer lease cash. Are those the official names for those amounts? Are both of those numbers coming from Honda? The term "dealer lease cash", sounds like the amount the dealership discounts the car from sticker. If that is the case, it doesn't seem like there would be much room for negotiation. I'm thinking maybe I'm overcomplicating things though. Can't I just negotiate with different dealers by just discussing the monthly payment + amount due and signing = Total Lease Price?
Click to expand...

I’m not certain but I think the lease cash includes the rebate of a sizable portion of the federal tax credit and other incentives which are discounted from the MSRP (i got $6500 rebate which was honda finance’s sharing of the credit). In my own case, the dealer discounted about $2300 in the initial negotiation. That figure may be the dealer lease cash (or could it be the $3000 down payment?). Once we got in the ballpark, I was able to talk to dealers to see about moving the monthly payment down and ultimately I want up shaving you another $50 per month of the initial ago she A once we got in the ballpark, I was able to talk to dealers to see about moving the monthly payment down and ultimately I want to shaving him another $50 per month of the initial offer.
 
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